Non-compete agreements are common and often encountered today in various workplaces.
Specifically, a non-compete agreement is a contract signed between the employer and the employee where the employee agrees to not compete with the employer during or after the termination of the employment relationship. In special cases of the agreement, it may also be determined that the employee does not become a competitor for a certain period of time.
The main concern to many parties involved is if the agreement is fairly compiled and correct in legal terms, and this can vary from case to case.
Those agreements are usually legally valid as long as they have certain things in order by specifying the period of time the employee is not allowed to become a competing party in the given professional field by directly competing with the current employer, also if the agreement has a certain amount of compensation for such an agreement or even if it has designated the region where such competition is not allowed to happen.
The advantages and disadvantages of a non-compete agreement
A non-compete agreement mostly provides advantages for an employer than for an employee.
Considering that and analyzing this phenomenon in-depth, we would list the advantages of employers for having a non-compete agreement and the disadvantages for the employee.
The main advantages for an employer for having such a signed agreement with an employee are as follows:
- Keeping your most valuable and high performing employees in your company
- Saving your trading/company secrets so they don’t get shared by your employee to another competitor
- Saving you from having a competitor more in the market
- Saving you from losing your customers due to another direct competitor in the market
The main disadvantages for an employee for having such a signed agreement with an employer are as follows:
- It deprives the employee to stay in a job or workplace he/she doesn’t feel secure or satisfied anymore
- It affects their professional ambition to pursue their favorite career or dream
- Limit them from pursuing their professional opportunities
- Deprive them to have the freedom and the right to establish their own companies
The importance of consulting your lawyer in the case of having a non-compete agreement
It is useful to get the necessary advice or consultation from a qualified lawyer before signing any non-compete agreement. Courts do not support the non-compete agreements as in such cases the employer has no right to force you to sign such an agreement but they cannot be prohibited by any law to terminate the working relationship with you or in cases of recruitment, to not hire you because you do not accept to sign the agreement.
Nevertheless, the only way to solve a non-compete agreement between an employer and employee is by following the legal path and let the lawyer take the case to the court.
If you as an employee sign such an agreement and do not respect it, the employer has the right to sue you.
As we have pointed out, such agreements are very difficult to uphold in court because the employer must show that the employee caused damages as a result of breaching the non-compete agreement and also have proof that the non-compete agreement protects a legitimate business interest.
Notwithstanding, having a lawyer’s assistance is significantly important for such situations, Your lawyer would advise if that agreement is enforceable in your state court, if there is any breach in the agreement, adjust the language and the provisions of the agreement, etc.
If you are seeking aggressive representation, contact us today for a free consultation by calling 212-374-9786 or emailing at info@discriminationlawyertoday.com.
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